Adas
Adas, born Vydios Fletcher, was the prophet whose teachings later served as the foundation for the formation of the Knight's Hand and the church of Adas. A being of immense power Vydios would be the one to unite all of Thedas into an Empire against the wielders of the black art, necromancy, during the great Magic Wars. Vydoid would later ascend to godhood after being mortally wounded in the final battle. History Vydios Fletcher was born in a small fishing village in the Bannorn; the central lowland region in Thedas. During the Magic Wars, a wide-spread conflicted secretly orchestrated by a coven of necromancers but publicly inacted by the corrupt nobility. Fletcher allied himself with neither sides and instead formed his own band of warriors which would later become the Knight's Hand to opposed both sides and bring about peace. The war went on, growing only the more violent with the additional warriors and wizards Vydios brought with him. Initially thought as nothing more than another soldier seeking the fields of glory and fame the scheming necromancers ignored Vydios and his marry band. But as soon as some of their carefully planned victories turned into defeats they finally turned their attention to the upstart but only to underestimated the man once more. Thinking they could threaten, bribe or outmanuever his army they commited minimal resources resulting in battles they had carelessly thought easy victories turning into disasters. Threatened with the possibility of the war ending before their plans had come to fruition they make an attempt on Vydios' life via dark magic. Barely escaping with his life Vydios dawns the name Adas and goes onto unite the waring factions of Thedas to stand against the necromancer coven who reveals they been harvesting the bodies of the fallen throughout the war to create the largest undead army in the worlds history. In the final battle against the undead hordes Adas defeated the Lord-Sovereign, the necromancer controlling the legions of undead. Without a sense of direction, the undead army became disorganized and is routed by the living, driving them into the very depths of the Frostfall Mountains. But such a grand victory did not come without a price. Adas, beloved by all, fell later that eve his wounds too great for even the greatest of Elven healers to mend. Description While mortal Adas appeared as a tall humanoid, dressed in ragged garb of yellow, blue, and silver-colored cloth. His facial features were always obscured by a hood and mask. As a being capable of utilizing magic he was able to conjure hundreds if not thousands of swords from thin-air at will. But he was always seen with his signature weapon, a one-handed sword with a wide, double-edged and a leaf-shaped blade. It had a round cross-guard with a groove in it, and a spherical pommel, both made of a dark gray metal. Dogma Adas sees the world as a sorrowful death filled husk that has potential for peace. As a mortal he despised corruption in any form but most particularly the art of necromancy. His followers should always act with honor and uphold justice but above all erradic practitioners of black art no matter where it is. Danger is to be faced head-on but with a plan of attack in mind, with calm and resolve. Adasean Code *'Duty to thy People'. This duty stresses courage in the face of overwhelming odds, justice, valor, protection of the weak, and faithfulness to church and upholding the righteous law. *'Duty to the Arch-paladin'. This duty stresses obedience to Adas himself, devotion and generosity to others, championing good against evil, putting the needs of the church and the faith above those of mortals. *'Duty to Love'. This duty pertains to the concept of courtly love, devotion to one's beloved, and respect toward all women. Redacted Code Over the ages Adas' teachings have become corrupted by the nobility, particularly House Hallmark. Each generation of Emperor has altered the code in some way to better benefit their station. * Duty to thy Better. This duty continues to stress courage in the face of overwhelming odds, justice and valor but gives nobles the right to enslave lesser beings (specifically non-human and non nobleman). Altered by Emperor Xavier Hallmark. * Duty to thy Faith. This duty stresses complete obedience to Adas, his church and the nobility, encouraging zealotry and putting the needs of the church and nobles above those of oneself. *'Duty to Adas'. This duty orders the extermination of all suspected practitioners of the black arts. This was first implimented during the rule of Emperor Riclannan Hallmark V during the start of his Exalted March. *'Duty to thy Blood'. This duty commonly refered to as "duty to thy loins" by outsiders allows the Emperor to sleep with any female who resides on his lands. Scriptures Very few holy texts that Vydios created survived the Magic Wars. The best-known work is likely ''The Journal of Vydios Fletcher, ''a fifteen-chapter work outlining Vydios' last thoughts before his ascension to godhood. But just like his teachings, this too has become corrupted by the work of the nobility. The one in church, at the capital of the Empire is a fake, written by the Hallmark family. The real journal, now thought destroyed, was said to have plans to denounce all noble lineages in what is now the Empire for their corrupt and wicked ways. Worshippers The faith of Adas is a militaristic one, launching crusades against evil and championing causes. As one would expect, many soldiers, city watchmen, mercenaries, and others who make their living by the sword find themselves honoring the Archpaladin. Clergy Priests of Adas often travel the world on orders from their superiors to seek out and destroy evil. Older priests often work as strategists, military instructors, or judges. Their favored weapons are the chain mace and heavy mace. Before becoming a Fletchling; a novice priest. The individual must prove themselves which varies among the recruits, some display acts of faith by puting themselves in dangerous peril. As a rule, until one becomes a fletchling, all postulants renounce their names. Full priests are called Brother or Sister, depending on the gender of the priest. Other titles used by the church are Valiant Brother (sister), Honored Sibling and Gallant Sister. Senior priests are called Mother or Father. These titles are separate from duty-titles such as Grand Cleric. There are titles for the elite among the priests, who work exclusively with the Knight's Hand, and are as such outside the chain of command of any senior priest, but regardless still belongs to the church and isn't recognized as a member of the Knight's Hand. These priests are ironically refered to as Knights while the more honorable title of templar is reserved for paladins. Priestly vestments include chain mail and blue robes with silver and gold trim Paladins Large numbers of paladins make up the Knight's Hand that follow the teachings of Adas, despite he himself not being one. But it was his utter dedication to Law and Good that paladins followed him, making them the most devout and zealous of Adas' followers. Ranks within the order of the Hand are as followed. Initiates were refered to as students or apprentices, they would be trained under a Master at Arms, who is charged with training new Hands. A fully trained paladin and member of the order is refered to as a templar. After achieving the honorary title of templar a paladin could specialize in tracking down magic-users who are accused of practicing necromancy. Those who specialize in tracking and delivering Adas' vengance are dubbed Seekers. The highest title one could achieve was Arch-paladin who was the supreme commander of the Knight's Hand, second to only the Emperor himself. Vestments for a templar was complete plate mail that was heavily polished with robes of white with gold trim. It was not uncommon for templars to annoint themselves with blue sapphires. Their favored weapons are a combination of a one-handed sword and shield or a two-handed longsword. Affiliated Orders The Knight's Hand is among the most prominent and well-known supporters of the church of Adas, able to trace its origins to the Magic Wars itself. The Kingdom of Palonan also a supporter of Adas, though hold different views on the deity and have come to create its own order of knights dubbed the Sisters of Battle. But due to their different beliefs they do not cooperate and at time known to take swings at one another. Temples Temples, chapels and shrines to Adas can be found throughout Thedas. The god's church is the favored state religion within the Empire and in the Kingdom of Palonan. A few shrines can be located among the Orc warbands, and while these aren't as glamorous as a Human one it does provide a spiritual relief. Adas' temples are decorated with blue, gold and silver trappings and often scenes of Adas' triumphant in stained glass line the windows and ceiling. Myths and legends Race and Sex Vydios was very mysterious around others never revealing his gender or race during the Magic Wars. Leading many of his followers to speculate on who and what he truely is. The Empire, one of two governing bodies of Thedas claim he was a Human male, decreeing otherwise an act of heresy. The Kingdom of Palonan, the second largerest nation on Thedas, believe Adas was still a Human but actually a female in disguise. Among the Orcs, the stories are different and vary between tribes. All argue over the subject of gender but they all agree Vydios was an Orc. For only a mighty Orc could unite an entire nation of pale-skins, twig-men and shorties (humans, elfs, dwarfs). The Elves keep their own opinion to themselves. Category:God